first steps in india: delhi & jaipur

Photo diary of Delhi & Jaipur

The journey through Asia has begun within the first stop in a massive country India! I was planning to get here since last summer (but have been planning to start travelling for my whole life probably) and, as soon as all of the things I had to do in Lithuania were done, I booked the flights, sorted out the visa, contacted the people and in three weeks landed at Delhi’s airport.
I have been told not to go here alone. I have read many articles how difficult it is to travel in India as a solo female, especially when you just start your journey in the continent. But in the end everything worked out more than fine for me: my dad’s friend had a flight to India as well – she’s coming here every single year and has travelled through the whole country. She gave a thousand of tips how to travel alone and presented me to her friend’s family, where I am living now for the past week, so I could see surroundings from the locals’ perspective.
Cultural shock is massive here – India is a country where poor people are very poor, don’t have money for food, live in the slums and are not able/too lazy to work while rich are extremely rich, have their own companies, businesses, have servants in the house so they could wash the dishes and clean the floor for them (it doesn’t sound too bad, considering that jobs in factories are super hard, tiring and don’t pay enough while working in the family is just easier). Girls don’t want to work, just sit at home all day long, spend their father’s/husband’s money, go to the gym and buy expensive clothes. Guys don’t want to move out from their parent’s house either – they have all the comfort they need. It’s funny considering how people in Europe can’t wait to finish high school so they could finally move out and start a new life.
So the first day in Delhi was spent in the huge house, built for meditation. A boyfriend of my dad’s friend started talking to me about my plans, life, what do I want to achieve and how; he even asked to show him my hands (apparently I will be travelling a lot, but he couldn’t see the money line:D) and told me a beautiful story about the meaning of life and how karma connects everything.
The next day I faced the reality in Delhi: slums, poverty, thousands of eyes looking at me and thieves who couldn’t stop staring at my camera. For a little piece of mind, we visited a Sikh temple, which provides meals and accommodation for the poor (and electricity if your phone’s battery is low). Temples give you a completely different spirit than the rest of the city, shares a little peace and happiness.
The following day we went to The Pink City, Jaipur, which was painted in this specific colour for the Prince Edward before his visit to India. The city impressed me the most with its massive market – we’ve been walking there for more than 2 hours and still didn’t see the end! Then, of course, a few temples and forts were visited; local beers and meals were tried until I caught the fever and massive bumps in my throat – toxins. That’s why we had to cut the trip short, but the last point of the Golden Triangle - Taj Mahal and Agra will be visited when I come back to the North!
Some interesting things that I found here:

·       India almost doesn’t have sidewalks – there’s only space for the cars to park and drive. That’s why Indians go to the malls for a walk.

·       If you want to go to the park, you have to buy a membership for it, which costs almost 7k euros. Otherwise the park would be filled with poor or homeless people.

·       Driving here is crazy, they don’t use side mirrors (some cars even cut them off), but beep every time for everything. Instead of driving in three lanes, Indians would make six.

·       For everything they say ‘no problem’ and ‘no worries’.

·       Only people who don’t want to work ask for money in the streets – very rarely they do it because they are not healthy enough to get a job.

·       Everything is very dusty and smog is unbearable in Delhi.

·       Locals, who invite you to their family, will treat you as a family’s member.

·       I love spicy food, but they put spices everywhere – even in the tea.

So far so good, tomorrow I will start my 45hrs journey to the South of India – can’t wait to get out of this ‘hell’ for some fresh air! I will be travelling around Kerala and Tamil Nadu regions for two weeks until I get back to the North!